Claudio Bravo

[poncirus]

I doubt anyone here followed either keeper extensively prior to their arrival at Barca. Ter Stegen was hyped up at the moment and that's the only reason certain kind of supporters went insane when Bravo claimed number 1 spot.

 

[Flavia]

Bravo's career at sociedad wasn't good enough to warrant a 12m fee, serghei. Really wasn't. 12m is a lot for a gk.
He used to make blunders and concede a lot of goals.
Having a bad defence in front of him didn't help, but there wasn't much to indicate he would become the gk we see now at Barça.

 

[serghei]

I doubt anyone here followed either keeper extensively prior to their arrival at Barca. Ter Stegen was hyped up at the moment and that's the only reason certain kind of supporters went insane when Bravo claimed number 1 spot.

I think that's exactly what happened. Both should have been received in the same way, since neither of them proved anything at a team like Barcelona.

 

[serghei]

Bravo's career at sociedad wasn't good enough to warrant a 12m fee, serghei. Really wasn't.
He used to make blunders and concede a lot of goals.
Having a bad defence in front of him didn't help, but there wasn't much to indicate he would become the gk we see now at Barça.

What about being Chile's captain?

Sometimes Barcelona makes great transfers, which makes us understand why people in the club have the jobs they have, and us here resume at commenting on the transfers they make. Bravo turned out to be that kind of transfer.

The people in the club saw something in Bravo we failed to see. And they were right.

 

[KingMessi]

Tells me you & a lot never saw Bravo played for Chile before signing with Barca.

He wasn't very good for Sociedad, which isn't really his fault, but still. More people had likely seen him play vs Madrid/Barca with Sociedad than they did with Chile.

 

[KingMessi]

What about being Chile's captain?

Sometimes Barcelona makes great transfers, which makes us understand why people in the club have the jobs they have, and us here resume at commenting on the transfers they make. Bravo turned out to be that kind of transfer.

The people in the club saw something in Bravo we failed to see. And they were right.

Give credit to Unzue. Bravo was his signing.

 

[serghei]

On one hand people say "we shouldn't go after obvious players, galactico types" (see Pogba), and that we have be more wise when making transfers. And when we brought a keeper that the media barely talked about, or that wasn't linked with any big clubs before, what do we do. We think he's shit before he's put on the gloves for Barca.

Give credit to Unzue. Bravo was his signing.

Hats off to him. Now we need to find another Unzue who's gonna sign Nolito for 15m.

 

[Flavia]

What about being Chile's captain?

Sometimes Barcelona makes great transfers, which makes us understand why people in the club have the jobs they have, and us here resume at commenting on the transfers they make. Bravo turned out to be that kind of transfer.

The people in the club saw something in Bravo we failed to see. And they were right.

He turned out great, but as I said, there was nothing to indicate he would. At that point, his career with chile wasn't as it's now either. His breakthrough came in the 2014 wc. Prior to that, he also used to make blunders with chile. Like the goal Villa scored on him in the 2010 wc. Unzué has a great eye for gks, it's true. But in 13-14, Bravo was still making blunders like the ball he passed to Bale score a goal.

 

[serghei]

He turned out great, but as I said, there was nothing to indicate he would. At that point, his career with chile wasn't as it's now either. His breakthrough came in the 2014 wc. Prior to that, he also used to make blunders with chile. Like the goal Villa scored on him in the 2010 wc. Unzué has a great eye for gks, it's true. But in 13-14, Bravo was still making blunders like the ball he passed to Bale score a goal.

That's the part where the professionals earn their money. Everyone can say Isco is class, and will be a great buy. But to sign Isco you need a ton of money. Money makes that transfer for you, not your skill. Like with Neymar. Everybody and their dog knew the kid was special. What you need to sign a player like that is a fat check (and to suck up to his dad in Ney's case). What you need to make a transfer like Bravo is intuition, and brains.

La Liga is an immense pool of talent and skill. And we don't know half of it. I bet there are 40 players who have it in them to succeed at a club like Barca or Real in La Liga right now. If someone is smart enough to anticipate which one has it and which one doesn't, that man is well worth the money.

 

[Sumlit]

I'm not so sure Stegen was scheduled to being anything. Why is everyone so sure Stegen would've been rock-solid starter? He wasn't Neuer or Buffon when he came. Bravo's career at Real Sociedad was good enough to warrant a 12m. move to one of the biggest club in the world. Also, being Chile's captain should have given some hints about his leadership qualities as well. Only serious players are captains of their national team, let alone a very good NT like Chile. There is no exception to this. Bravo was underrated when he came, pure and simple. And Stegen was overrated, hence the discrepancies in the sympathy (or antipathy in Bravo's case) which whith they were welcomed by the fans. The image the fans had about these players was not the right (or fair) one.

I know your position of Bravo. That's why I said you don't like him. When you say about a player that he will never be good enough to be a starter at a team, it is a big deal. It involves a degree of certainty, one that can only come from either not liking him or seriously underrating him.

You're opinion on him was already changed by reality. You surely now think he is good enough to be more than a bench warmer at Barcelona.

There's no overrating Bravo on this forum. I haven't seen anyone saying he is better than Neuer, or better than De Gea, Buffon, or Curtois. That would be overrating him. Placing him in top 10 in the world at this moment is a must.

And about last season, no one can say anything bad about it (except the mistake vs Sevilla). He won the Zamora, and was MotM (or close) in both Valencia games, the RM game on Camp Nou were Real dominated us for 55 min., and was solid all around, with very few exceptions. Clear no1 and best keeper in the league type of season. Wining the Copa America with his country as captain for the first time in their history was the icing on the cake. Had he played in Copa and CL he would've probably made 4/4.

Well to start, ter Stegen was bought to be the future keeper of this team and was given the #1 shirt. Bravo was bought last second because of the question of experience and quality competition/depth at the possible request of the new coach, so the speculation the former was scheduled to be the started of this team before his injury is far more valid than the alternative. Secondly, the money argument is quite poor. Barcelona payed almost €20m including variables for an injured player who couldn't play all season, hardly builds a solid argument as to money equaling merit. Money being spent for average players all over the world, including Barca aslo don't aid this argument. Ditto with the captain argument, which I don't even understand. Bravo was not underrated coming in. People were puzzled by his purchase precisely because of his less than shining career at Sociedad, though in retrospect an understandable signing by virtue of his extensive experience at the position. Stegen was certainly overhyped, but that's not a novelty with young talented player.

You clearly still don't understand my position on Bravo if you continue to insist I do not like him. I wasn't overjoyed with the signing, but I do recognize he is a very experienced keeper and he has served the team well in that regard. My issue, I repeat, is not with Bravo but the narrative that surrounds him, created and fostered by the fans and certain media outlets. He has quickly become the most overrated player on this squad, therein lies my issue, not with the player itself. To say there is no overration of Bravo on this forum is to show a complete lack of awareness, understanding and/or bias. All this bickering and arguing over the keepers stems precisely from the overration of Bravo. You're so good at necroing posts, perhaps you should search back for evidence of the very thing you say you haven't seen. As well as claiming placing Bravo as a top 10 in the world is a must after one solid club season on a decade club career of merely average play.

 

[Observer]

Bravo has been solid for Chile in the past 5 years.

WC 2010 Qualifiers was already proof of that and besides that mistake with Villa, he had a good Copa.

The "new role" provided by Sampaoli in 2014 Qualifiers demanded him more possession & play with the defense line, he stepped up his foot & aerial work. (somebody noticed)

Can't really say much positive things about RS defense and there is no leveled ground to Chile defense to build an objective comparison, but the difference was evident.

 

[poncirus]

He turned out great, but as I said, there was nothing to indicate he would. At that point, his career with chile wasn't as it's now either. His breakthrough came in the 2014 wc. Prior to that, he also used to make blunders with chile. Like the goal Villa scored on him in the 2010 wc. Unzué has a great eye for gks, it's true. But in 13-14, Bravo was still making blunders like the ball he passed to Bale score a goal.

He was Chile captain already at 2010 World Cup. That's an international team with strong identity and very demanding and intensive high line. He made more saves than any La Liga keeper in last couple of years. Surely he was doing something right as a goalkeeper. You followed him carefully throughout career and know something we don't?

Seems lots of people here really followed Real Sociedad games in recent seasons which I find weird. Or they just made judgments on basis of few irrelevant bits of information, according to their pre-determined narrative.

 

[Observer]

The overhyping of young players unfortunately comes with the business territory and if you are a big club there is a need from board & fanbase to gather young talent fast & with loads of cash in front of.

Funny enough, there is still one position which is almost 80% filled with experienced players: GK

 

[serghei]

[MENTION=15731]Sumlit[/MENTION], no point in prologing this, since everyone seems to be firm on their positions. I take it you think Bravo is not a top 10 keeper right now (I don't give a shit what happened years ago, his career is not at discussion here, his performances are). I disagree.

 

[Flavia]

He was Chile captain already at 2010 World Cup. That's an international team with strong identity and very demanding and intensive high line. He made more saves than any La Liga keeper in last couple of years. Surely he was doing something right as a goalkeeper. You followed him carefully throughout career and know something we don't?

Bravo wasn't regarded as a top gk before the 2014 wc, and playing for Barça. There are a ton of solid keepers around the world. Saying he made more saves than any liga keeper doesn't mean much, that's the kind of stat that means nothing by itself. He took a lot of shots while in sociedad, and also conceded a lot of goals.

I'm glad he made the jump and worked out for Barça, but he wasn't exactly brilliant for sociedad.